I am the founder and president of the Business of Sports Network, a consulting and analysis firm which includes the The Biz of Baseball. Through the Business of Sports Network, research and analysis has been done for several clubs in MLB and the NBA, as well as work at a pro league level. Not content to work just on the management side, we have done work for several sports agencies. Other written work is at the freelance level for outlets such as Variety Weekly. I can be heard across the country as a radio guest each week, including a regular sports business segment on FOX Sports Radio Portland each Weds. My work has been sourced for analysis and commentary in the NY Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Washington Times, CNN/Money, MarketWatch, Crain's Business NY, Crain's Detroit Business, Crain's Business Chicago, The Deal, the Rocky Mountain News, Fox News, New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated.com, the NY Sun, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Tampa Tribune, Toronto Globe and Mail, Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Sports Review, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, St. Petersburg Times, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, San Jose Mercury News, the Oregonian, the Portland Business Journal, Sports Fantasy Monthly magazine, and USA Today Sports Weekly. I look forward to your comments, and can be followed on Twitter via @BizballMaury.

The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Halfway Through Season, NFL Has 18 Of The Most-Watched TV Programs Since Sept 5

Showing that compared to other sports, the NFL is a universe unto its own, at the half-way point in the 2013 season, the National Football League is smashing the competition in the television ratings and overall viewership department.

Currently, NFL games account for the 18 most-watched programs on television since the NFL season kicked off on Sept. 5, as well as 19 of the top 20 (see the chart below). Through Week 9, NBC’s Sunday Night Football accounts for the seven most-watched primetime shows this fall.

In addition, the average NFL game telecast (including broadcast and cable) has drawn 16.8 million viewers (vs. 16.0 million at this point in 2012) – more than double the average primetime viewership (7.5 million) for the big four broadcast networks in the new television season, according to information provided by The Nielsen Company.

The question is, is football becoming so popular on television that fans would rather watch from the comfort of their home rather than pay to see games in-person at stadiums across the country? The NFL has seen attendance drop in five consecutive seasons, and has recently loosened up on the blackout policy in an effort to try and draw more fans to the stadium. Still, the problem the NFL faces is one that the other Big-4 sports would like to have. The NBA, NHL, and MLB would love to have these ratings numbers.

Other notables around NFL ratings:

An NFL game telecast has been television’s most-watched program in each of the season’s first nine weeks (tied with 2012 and up from seven of the first nine weeks in 2011).

NFL games on CBSCBS, ESPNESPN, FOX and NBC collectively have averaged 12.9 million viewers making the 2013 season the most-viewed among these four networks through Week 9 since at least 2006.

NBC’s Sunday Night Football is averaging 21.6 million viewers through Week 9 and ranks as the No. 1 show in primetime this television season (Live-Plus-Same-Day viewing) with the seven most-watched primetime shows this fall.

ESPN Monday Night Football is averaging 13.4 million viewers. The Monday Night Football opener (Eagles-Redskins) was the most-watched Week 1 game ever on ESPN with 16.54 million viewers and posted the highest rating ever for a season opener on ESPN (11.8).

Through eight games of its 13-game schedule, NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football is averaging 7.8 million viewers (including over the air stations) – pacing +12% in viewers ahead of its 2012 13-game season average. Jets-Patriots on Thursday Night Football kicked off Week 2 and registered NFLN’s best-ever season-opening telecast with 8.8 million viewers followed by the Week 3 Kansas City Chiefs-Philadelphia Eagles game that was the highest-rated Thursday Night Football telecast in NFLN history (6.0 US HH rating and 9.4 million viewers, not including over-the-air stations).

For the season, NFL games rank as the 18 most-watched TV shows since Labor Day, up from 14 at this point last season, as well as 19 of the top 20. Following are the most-watched programs this fall:

Source: NFL & The Nielsen Company

Following is the list of the 23 NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of Oct. 28 – Nov.3:

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